"Here it-a comes!" Mario shouted, shoving Goombella out of the way as the giant, fanged block of doom came crashing down from the ceiling.
"Eeek!" the Goomba girl yelped while she rolled across the floor. Ryoga dodged the Tchomp as well, but Kodachi was a tiny bit too slow.
Her painful cry echoed through the hall as one of her new Paratroopa wings got ripped off her shell.
Kodachi's first thought was how strange it was that she felt pain at all. After all, the wing was just something she attached to her shell herself... not a true part of her body... or was it?
The sound of her cry, together with the sight of his sister squirming in pain was enough to send Ryoga over the edge.
"NOBODY HURTS MY SISTER!!" he yelled with rage, as he withdrew into his shell and started spinning on the spot.
"Like, what is he doing?" Goombella wondered.
"Uh-oh..." Mario gulped. He quickly ran over to Kodachi and helped her to her feet. "Quick, get out of the way!"
And then the yellow, black-spotted Koopa shell started to fly wildly through the room, ricocheting off the walls and confusing the heck out of the Tchomp.
Finally, the shell hit its mark... and when he smacked right into the creature's face, Ryoga yelled loudly: "BAKUSAI TENKETSU REVISED: CRACK SHELL!"
With all of Ryoga's ki focussed in the front part of his shell, even the Tchomp's sturdy rock hide could not withstand this assault. At first, only a tiny crack formed, but as the shell continued to spin, it grew bigger and bigger, additional cracks appeared... and the Tchomp let out a deafening roar just before his rocky body broke apart in a shower of pebbles.
Ryoga was repeatedly hit by the rock shards, but his shell protected him. When it was over, he came back out and panted heavily.
Goombella, Mario and Kodachi peered out from behind a pillar.
"Is it safe to come out?" Goombella squeaked.
Ryoga nodded as he plopped down to the floor tired. That attack took too much out of him...
"That's-a great!" Mario cheered. "Whoohoo! Great job, Ryoga! Now you two can finally use that magical power."
Kodachi was shocked. Not only because of the pain she felt when her wing got ripped off, but also because of how Ryoga reacted when she was hurt... And somehow, she was... moved by it.
She blinked. Was that really her? Did she just think a thankful thought? No blind hatred, no jealousy, no insane possessiveness?
Ryoga stumbled to his feet, picked something off the ground and gave it to her with a weak smile. "Here, I believe that's yours..."
Kodachi took the Para-Wing and looked down at it with awe. This little thing... it was now much more to her than just a present. It showed to her that THIS wasn't just an evil spell... this was a real body, made of flesh and blood. And it was HER body.
As well as Ryoga was HER brother.
She looked up at him with teary eyes. "Th-thank you..." she murmured. "B... brother..."
Ryoga smiled back at her. "Anytime, sis!"
"Hey, would you look at this?" Goombella suddenly shouted. "Something's moving in the rubble..."
Surprised, they all turned to face the biggest pile of rocks in the middle of the room, the place where the Tchomp had been standing right before he got destroyed.
"Keep your guard up..." Mario murmured. "I think it's not over yet..."
The pebbles got pushed aside... and a pair of huge eyes blinked at the foursome.
"Awww, it's like sooo CUTE!" Goombella gushed.
It was indeed cute. A tiny, football-sized stone block with a big mouth and a pair of adorable eyes. It looked around the room in confusion, then it spotted a tiny rock in front of it... and it happily gobbled it down.
"What's-a going on here?" Mario asked. "Where did this Baby Tchomp come from?"
"Wait a sec..." Goombella said as she consulted her Tattle Log. "Okay, it says here that when a Tchomp reaches adolescence, it creates an additional layer of rocks around its body, making it an adult. The original baby body stays dormant as long as the adult body is intact. But, as a safety measure, the baby body stays in there as well, in case the adult Tchomp would meet its demise. Then the baby in its middle will be reborn, with only the memories it gathered until the adult shell was created."
"That means it doesn't really remember fighting us?" Ryoga wondered. "Still, why is it so docile? It doesn't seem to be bothered by our presence at all."
"Baby Tchomps are like that," Goombella explained. "They aren't afraid as long as their parents are around."
"But there aren't any parents around here..." Kodachi said in confusion. But then she realized something. "Uh-oh..."
The tiny Tchomp creature rubbed up against her leg with a big smile on its face. "Mommy!" it said happily.
"Oh, that can't be true..." the black-shelled Koopa girl groaned.
"Well, it's certainly better behaved than when it still wanted to eat us," Ryoga chuckled. "It's really cute, why don't we keep it?"
"You've GOT to be kidding me!" Kodachi blurted out.
"Why not?" Ryoga smiled as he knelt down next to the baby. "I think I'll call it Scrunch... Hi there, Scrunch!"
Scrunch happily nuzzled the turtle boy's hand.
Mario then cleared his throat. "Um, I don't want to disturb the happy threesome... but isn't this what you've come here for?" He gestured at the stone altar, where a shiny crystal had appeared, shaped like a humanoid Whomp.
Ryoga and Kodachi approached the altar, with Scrunch hopping behind them. "Is this...?" Kodachi murmured.
"Yes, this must be it," Goombella nodded. "The ancient artifact of the Whonk civilization Professor Frankly told me about."
"And the source of magical power Merluvlee mentioned," Mario added. "So, if you two still want to have it, all you have to do is touch it."
The two Koopa siblings looked at each other uncertainly, but then they nodded and walked closer to the shiny artifact.
"I might have accepted my birth form, but it would be convenient if I could turn back into a human when I'm back in Nerima..." Kodachi murmured.
"Yeah, same here!" Ryoga agreed. "That is, if I find my way back there..."
Kodachi smirked. "Oh, come on, brother dear! You wouldn't be able to find your way back out of these ruins without any help."
"Ooh, now you think you've got me, right?" Ryoga smirked. "But you know what, sis? I'll have someone who can guide me out of here, and maybe even back to Nerima."
"Oh? And who might that be?" Kodachi asked.
Ryoga smiled and gave her a hug. "Only my one and only sister..."
Kodachi couldn't help herself... she hugged him back, and a single tear was running down her scaly cheek. Together, they then faced the shiny crystal and reached out to touch it...
"Awww, isn't that sweet?" Goombella gushed. "True sibling love..."
Mario nodded with a sigh. He was suddenly feeling very lucky that he had his brother Luigi. He pitied all the siblings that couldn't get along with each other...
A bright light filled the room...
----
"I told you not to disturb my studies!" Ludwig von Koopa yelled as he threw his brother out of his room. "Now leave me alone!"
"But bro!" Larry protested. "I just wanted to ask you if you've seen Junior around. Dad wants to see him..."
"I couldn't care less about that annoying little brat!" the self-proclaimed crown prince of the royal Koopa line huffed. "He's an arrogant, evil tyke who needs to learn his place. He's the youngest, therefore he has to listen to all of us. But nooo, he's Father's special little darling, and because of that, he seems to believe that he can get away with everything he does... just like you, by the way!" Ludwig added as he glared at his younger sibling. "You are almost as annoying as he is. Now stay out of my room! Composing Koopa symphonies isn't as easy as it might seem." And he slammed the door to his room in front of his brother's face.
"Sheesh..." Larry grumbled. "What's bitten him...?"
----
A sizzling, charred and twitching Koopa brat in eggshells was left behind while the two girls from Nerima walked the path the two former ninja girls have told them.
"Just you wait..." he had time to sputter. "The next time we meet... I won't go this easy on you..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Ukyo grumbled as she continued to walk. "Dang, I don't really like to pick on little kids like that... but he needed to be taught a lesson."
"Shampoo think he has either learned lesson... or is more stubborn than Airen!"
Ukyo smirked. "Yeah, Ranchan can be stubborn like that... although he never would be as rude as that guy back there."
"You certainly talk much about this 'Ranma' boy..." Ana spoke up from Shampoo's forehead.
"Well, he IS pretty much everything that I'm striving for," Ukyo said with a dreamy smile.
"No way! Ranma MY Airen!" Shampoo protested. "He beat Shampoo in fair combat!"
"Oh yeah? Just for your information, he beat ME too!"
"He beat Shampoo earlier, so that not count."
"Sugar, your backwater village rules don't apply here, get a hint! Ranma doesn't want you! You're just scaring him away with your constant glomping. He told ME that I was cute... I am his childhood friend... and I was the first one he was promised to. He just can choose only me!"
"In your dreams, spatula girl..." Shampoo growled.
"Um, it's nice to see the two of you get along so well..." Kat said.
----
Just a couple of minutes later, they finally reached the edge of the forest... and the outskirts of Toad-Town. Both Nerima girls were a bit dumbfounded by the sheer amount of mushroom midgets that were walking along the streets, but they were too tired and too hungry to be surprised.
"Finally!" Ukyo sighed. "I can't wait for a nice, relaxing bath in a hotel..."
"And a nice bowl of ramen," Shampoo agreed.
Ukyo frowned. "Okonomiyaki would be much better, but whatever. Any type of food will do."
"The Toad House is over there, near the post office," Kat told the two girls. "But can't we try to find someone who can help us with our current... problem?"
"Oh, right," Ukyo said sheepishly. "For a while, I forgot about that. But who could we ask in such a case?"
"Airen!"
Ukyo groaned. "Shampoo, even if Ranma were here, I doubt that he could tell us how to break a spell that an inhabitant of this world cast upon our two friends here."
"No, Shampoo mean... Airen! Over there!" And she ran over to the Item Shop, a big grin on her face.
Ranma and Akane were standing there, both looking into the shop's showcase. Both Luigi and the princess had asked them to buy some new batteries for the Poltergust. When King Boo was captured, it had used up most of its energy, and now they needed more batteries to be on the safe side when they wanted to capture the other ghosts that were still floating through their castle.
"I can't believe Happosai got away just like that..." Ranma grumbled. "I wish I could have kicked his butt..."
"Well, he IS a ghost now," Akane pointed out. "That means he can float through walls. Oh, would you take a look at this, Ranma?" Akane giggled. "They're selling little sheep in here that help you with falling asleep."
"I'd rather try a few of these mushrooms..." Ranma said while licking his lips. Training was fun, but it always made him so hungry afterwards. "Ya think they would be good with some noodles?"
He gasped when he was suddenly glomped from behind by a pair of strong arms. Then he groaned. "There is only one person in the world who can glomp me like this..."
"AIREN!" Shampoo squealed happily. "Shampoo make you all the ramen you want! You happy to see Shampoo too?"
"SHAMPOO! Get your hands of him right now! Dammit, Ranma! How can you let her hang herself all over you like that?"
'Yup,' Ranma sighed. 'Here we go again!'
"Hey! Let go of Ranchan, you Chinese hussy! I am his fiancee!"
"In your dreams, Ukyo!"
"You wanna fight, Akane?"
"Shampoo beat all of you!"
"All right, that's ENOUGH!" Ranma yelled, loud enough that the three fiancees looked at them in surprise, as well as all the Toads that were nearby.
"Well, this is... certainly an interesting relationship all of you have," Ana spoke up, while at the same time, she thought: 'Poor boy...'
Akane blinked. Not knowing how she should react to Ranma's sudden outburst, she pointed at Shampoo's head and said. "Um, Shampoo, your... bandana just spoke."
"Oh, that's just Ana," Ukyo said. "She and her sister Kat..." She pointed at her own ribbon. "Have been transformed by some turtle brat with a magical paintbrush."
"Hello everybody!" Kat said. She would have waved, but that was difficult to do without having any hands.
"We came here to find someone who can help them turn back," Shampoo explained. "Ranma know somebody?"
"Well, since I've never been in this town before either..." Ranma shrugged.
"Wait, what about that fortune teller Mario told us about?" Akane asked. "The one he wanted to take Ryoga and Kodachi to."
"You know Mario?" Kat asked with surprise. "THE Mario?"
"Ryoga and Kodachi are here as well?" Ukyo sighed. "What is this, an excursion for martial artists?"
"You don't know the half about it..." Akane mumbled.
Suddenly, a loud explosion made them all jump in surprise.
"What the heck was that?" Ukyo asked.
"That came from the castle," Ranma gasped when he saw the cloud of smoke that was rising above the castle's towers. "C'mon, the princess might be in trouble."
The fiancees hurried after Ranma. "Princess?" Shampoo asked. "She not another new wife for Airen, right?"
----
Just a couple of minutes earlier, Junior and his two servants had arrived at the castle... at it's backside, to be precise.
"Nobody will suspect us from attacking from behind," the mischievous Koopa prince cackled. "Very soon Mama Peach will come back to us... Papa will be so proud of me!"
"But Monsieur!" Varita protested. "There isn't even an entrance back here, non?"
"I know that," Junior smirked. "That's why I'm gonna use my magic brush to paint a new one."
"But ze moat?" Valerie pointed out.
"You trans-gendered, villainous plumber-maids have no imagination!" Junior sighed. "Watch closely!"
He raised his paintbrush, then walked over to the moat and made a few sweeps with his magical tool. And with every stroke of the brush, he created part of a wooden bridge that was leading directly across the moat.
When the work was done, Junior pulled back his brush and smirked at his two followers.
"Incredible, Monsieur!" Varita said. She exchanged a quick glance with her sister. They both nodded at each other. While on their way to the castle, they had been able to quietly whisper to each other, while Junior was walking ahead, ranting about what he was gonna do to anyone who would stand in his way. Together, they realized that the paint which had transformed them should be washed away by water... and crossing the moat of the castle was the ideal chance they got to free themselves from Junior's control.
"I know!" Junior grinned. "Now then, ladies, follow me!" He walked across the bridge, never paying attention to any of his two maids. When he arrived at the back wall of the castle, he painted a small door, just big enough for him and his maids to fit through.
He was surprised when he suddenly heard two loud splashes from behind. He turned around. "Girls?" he wondered. "Where are you?"
He was very surprised when a bulky and a lanky shape came jumping out of the water, landing on the bridge in front of him.
Wario cracked his knuckles. "Now... you... PAY!"
"Nobody tortures Waluigi like that!" his skinny brother proclaimed while angrily shaking his fist.
Junior gritted his teeth. "You traitors! Is this how you thank me? I was offering you to be my servants, and now you attack me? You... you big meanies!"
"No Daddy here to help you out, little boy!" Wario grinned as he and his brother came closer. "Any last words?"
Junior brandished his weapon. "I still have the paintbrush!"
"Try to paint THIS!" Wario yelled while charging at the young Koopa with his shoulder.
Kimmy Koopa was still in the castle's courtyard, tidying up the training tools she, Ranma and Akane had used... when suddenly, a spiky-shelled boy that looked kinda familiar to her came whooshing through the air, just barely missing her as he was smacked into the wall at the other side of the courtyard.
She looked back where he came from and was surprised to see a door there that hasn't been there before... and it was completely blocked by a fat, yellow-clothed body.
"Get out of the way, brother!" a voice behind Wario screeched. "I wanna smash him up!"
"Ung... I can't..." Wario grunted. "I'm stuck..."
"All right!" Kimmy said sternly. "What's the meaning of this, Wario? I thought you were already in your way back to Diamond City?"
Behind her, Junior had just jumped back to his feet. "AAAAAAAAHH!" he yelled. "You're all going to pay for this!" And he twirled his paintbrush around, shooting paintballs all over the place.
Kimmy quickly ducked behind the Bullet Bill Launcher she had used in their training. "That kid's crazy..." she murmured. "Just like his father... Hmmm... maybe this will shut him up!" And she quickly turned the Bullet Bill Launcher around and fired a Bullet Bill at the rampaging prince.
Meanwhile, Princess Peach had taken Toadette into her room to have a stern word with her, while Luigi and Toad were still searching the castle for the two fled Boos.
"Really, Toadette, I'm disappointed! My castle isn't a racing track! And my beautiful cake... destroyed! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm really, really sorry about this," Toadette cringed. "But I was so furious... I just wanted to get that panty thief, don't you understand?"
"I understand that, but you could have asked me or Luigi for help first," Peach scolded. "Why did you keep your kart in your room, anyways? I will... huh? What's the racket outside?"
She curiously opened the door to her balcony, and gasped when she looked down. "What is going on out here?"
Kimmy had just fired her Bullet Bill, but Junior acted quickly, creating a small brick wall with his brush. Still, the missile's blast was strong enough to destroy it, and the explosion sent him flying, directly into the arms of a surprised Princess Peach.
Junior grinned up at her. "Oh, hi there, Mama!"
"J-junior!" Peach was so shocked that she didn't even think about letting go of him.
Just then, the paintbrush Junior was still holding was giving off a few sparks. Junior looked at it and gulped. "Uh-oh..." he murmured. "The thing is malfunctioning... the explosion might have been too much!"
And when suddenly, a huge amount of goop came spouting forth from the tip of the brush, Peach had barely time to shout for help when she and Junior both got buried under a huge pile of paint...
"PRINCESS!" Toadette shouted with horror.
----
Ryoga smiled when he looked upwards, where his new sister was twirling through the air with her Para-Wings, finally happy with the form she was born in. And happy that she could always turn back into a human when necessary.
They had both tried it, directly after touching the crystal. Both had felt a small tingling, but that was it. And when Mario suggested trying out if it worked... both of them were able to turn back into their human forms again... changing of clothes INCLUDED! Ryoga was certain that he would have developed a massive nosebleed if that hadn't been the case. Heck, he was nearly getting one just by thinking about that possibility or not. Sister or not, Kodachi had still one heck of a body.
But now, she also had a sane mind to get along with it...
Ryoga was back in his human form, walking alongside Mario and Goombella while they walked back to Toad-Town. Kodachi had been happy, sure... but now that she had accepted her new role in life, she seemed to be much more content with being a Koopa.
Besides, flying was incredibly fun.
Goombella looked up at Ryoga. He had been taller than her to begin with, but now that he was a human again, he towered even over Mario... not to mention her tiny, little Goomba body.
"I wish I could do something like that..." she sniffled while carrying her backpack. "I wish I was bigger than that."
"Aw, don't be sad," Mario comforted her. "Everyone has his or her place in this world, and even though Goombas are small, they can do big things, just like anyone else. You and Goombario proved that when you helped me against Bowser, the X-Nauts and the Shadow Queen."
"I guess that's true..." she sighed. Oh well, at least she had something incredible to bring back to the Goom University. 'Professor Frankly will be so proud of me...' she thought.
"Your sister certainly looks like she's-a enjoying herself, Ryoga," Mario said.
Ryoga nodded with a smile. "Yup, I can hardly believe it... back in Nerima, she was a completely different person... and I don't just mean her appearance."
"I think I know what you mean," Mario agreed. The first time he met Kodachi, she seemed very cold and distant, hating everything that she wasn't used to.
"Maybe... the curse is already weakening..." he murmured. "Kodachi is much more saner, and Ryoga hasn't gotten lost ever since we left the ruins..."
"Hey, hurry up, you slowpokes!" came Kodachi's laughter from above. "We're almost in Toad-Town, so don't fall behind!" She swooped down and fluttered alongside them. Clinging to her back was Scrunch, who nuzzled her neck affectionally. He seemed to enjoy the ride immensely.
"Give us a break, sis!" Ryoga laughed. "You're the only winged Koopa around here. Well, I COULD keep up with you... but I'm not too sure about Mario and Goombella."
"Goombas don't have exactly long legs..." Goombella sighed.
"Well, in the end, we reached our goal anyways," Mario chuckled as they walked through the entrance gate of town. "Now we go and tell Princess Peach the good news so we can..."
"MARIO! MARIO!" Toad came running up to them, a panicked expression on his face.
"What's-a going on?" Mario asked. "What are you flustered about now, Toad?"
"It's, it's terrible... th-the p-p-princess... the c-castle... oooh, it's so horrible! You have to help her!"
"Now calm down there, dude!" Ryoga said. "And just tell us what the matter is."
----
Toadette glanced over to the bed her princess was sitting on while she was busy cleaning the remaining goop of the wall. While she was fortunate enough not getting hit by the paint, she couldn't believe what happened to her beloved princess.
Akane, Ranma, Ukyo, Shampoo, Kasumi, Nabiki, Toadsworth and Kenny were sitting on other chairs and tried very hard not to stare while Peach was happily caring for the child she was holding. But that alone was not the reason why they were staring.
The princess' lovely dress had been torn by her marvelous transformation. Instead, the only thing she was clad in was a layer of pale, yellow scales. On most parts of her body, they were very thin and soft, almost flesh-like, while the ridges that covered her chest, stomach and lower areas were as hard as a Buzzy Beetle's carapace. Two curved horns were sticking out of her blonde hair, and a long, reptilian tail was draped across the bed behind her. Her face was elongated just a tiny bit into the hint of a muzzle, while two cute little fangs were poking out of her mouth. Her whole body shape was the same as before, only that she was wearing a pink, spiked Koopa Shell on her back.
In her arms, she was cradling a young Koopaling, with a pair of red pigtails and a very human-like stature, just like the princess herself. She was wearing a diaper on which a pair of sharp jaws was visible. She also nursed from a big bottle of milk the princess was holding.
Peach hummed a soft song, which seemed to soothe the little baby girl.
The door opened, and Luigi came in, followed by Kimmy.
"All right," he said. "We locked the Wario Brothers into the storeroom for now. I couldn't find any trace of the two Boos, they must have escaped."
"I knew I should have pounded Happosai into the ground when I had the chance..." Ranma grumbled.
"Yeah, and damaged the castle walls while he made himself intangible," Nabiki sneered. "He's a ghost now, Ranma, I don't think you can fight him the same way."
"Well, at least he's out of the castle for now," Kimmy sighed. "How's the princess faring?" she whispered.
Toadsworth shook his head. "She seems fine, but she refuses to let go of the Koopaling ever since we cleared the magical paint from them..."
Peach smiled. "I am fine, Kimmy, thank you for worrying." And she went back to feed the little one until the bottle was empty.
The little girl burped. "Mommy, I'm still hungry..." she whined.
"Well then, let's go look if there's some milk left in the kitchen, shall we?" Peach smiled. "You have cleaned the place by now, haven't you, Toadette?"
The mushroom girl sighed. "Yes, there's no spot left."
"Good. Take care to leave no spot in this room, either." And she left the room.
Toadette leaned against her mop and groaned. "Why do I have to do this?" she whined.
"It was you who caused the mess in the kitchen," Toadsworth said sternly. "You should be thankful that the princess' punishment is as mild as this."
"Still, I'm worried about the princess..." Kimmy grumbled. "What if that paint messed up her mind? She seems to think that the brat is her own child."
"Well, I don't think it was Junior's goal to be transformed like this either," Luigi pointed out. "So maybe there are only cosmetic changes."
"Oh dear..." Ana sighed. "And I thought our own transformations were bad enough... and now he can't even turn us back."
"Yeah, the paintbrush is busted," Kenny nodded. "But still maybe Merlon knows of a way to cure both you and the princess..."
Kasumi smiled. "I think it's sweet that she cares for the little ones. It's almost like she's her real mommy..."
"That can't be!" Kimmy snapped. "She's the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and that brat is of Bowser's spawn... our two kingdoms will never live in peace!" Angrily, the Koopa woman left the room and hurried after the princess.
"Now that was real smooth, sis..." Nabiki sighed.
Kasumi was confused. "Was it something I said?"
Kenny sighed. "You must forgive her, Kasumi. She has been pressed by her father to be part of Bowser's army her whole life. And she had sworn to herself that she would never be a part of it again. I don't think there are other residents of the Mushroom Kingdom that hate the Koopa Kingdom as much as she does."
"I don't think hate should be the answer," Ranma frowned. "Fighting your opponent is one thing, but I never hated Kuno, Ryoga or Herb. They were rivals to me, sure, but I never really hated them."
Akane wondered about that. Back when he was fighting Saffron, she had witnessed how furious Ranma could become... but was it real hatred?
"But it was paint that turned her into this, right?" Ukyo asked. "Couldn't she just take a shower, and she turns back to normal again?"
"Hey!" Kat shouted. "If you had that idea, why not tell us sooner? The same thing could help us too, you know?"
"Sorry, I just thought about it," Ukyo winced. "But shouldn't we try it out?"
"Well, I'm for it," Toadsworth spoke up. "Anything to turn the princess back to normal, as soon as possible!"
"But... she looked so happy like this," Kasumi pondered. "I think we should ask her first."
----
Peach walked down the steps from the upper floor while carrying her little bundle of joy. The guards and servants she passed on her way looked after her in disbelief.
She knew that this was the same Koopaling that tried to kidnap her in the guise of Shadow Mario, but... she somehow couldn't stay angry at him - or rather, her - when she looked into those adorable eyes.
When she reached the lower floor of the castle, the main doors opened and Mario entered, followed by his old friend Goombella, Toad, a winged Kodachi and a young, human man she did not recognize.
"Peach! Toad told me what was going on. Are you all..." Mario stepped dead in his tracks when he looked upon her new body. Goombella nearly ran into him from behind.
"Hey, what gives?" the Goomba girl asked in annoyance, not noticing the princess.
"P-p-peach?" Mario mumbled.
The humanoid Koopa girl in front of him smiled. "Hello, Mario! How was your little trip to the ruins? Could you find anything?"
"Wh-what happened?" Kodachi stuttered as she landed next to her brother. "Which villain put this spell on you?" Yep, there was still a bit of Kuno left in her.
"I'm afraid Junior had played a bit roughly and caused this... accident. Now she's getting sleepy and I think I have to take her back to her brothers and sister..."
"Her... Peach, you mean... that's Junior?" Mario gaped at the little girl in Peach's arms. But then, he realized what she just said. "You... want to go to Bowser's castle? All by yourself?"
"Not right now! But tomorrow, yes, I think I'll go tomorrow. I don't think Bowser would hurt me. After all, I'm bringing back his son... well, daughter." She sighed. "The other children will be overjoyed to see their sister and mother again..."
"Something... is very wrong here..." Goombella whispered.
